[jimbomaybe]

My knowledge of landscaping and plants is very slim, I have some backyard space and would like to plant some Black Diamond Crape Myrtle of the smaller size variety, I find the darker foliage very attractive. My understanding is that this is a newer plant , does anyone have any advise or experience to to share? TIA

[Byte1]

It seems to be a slow grower. I have a neighbor that has one in his front yard and it hardly seems to increase in size in the few years it's been planted. He told me that he was told that it will only grow about ten feet tall. It looks nice, but looks more like a bush than a tree. They are from North Carolina; a type of hybrid.

[Kenswing]

We have one and can’t seem to keep the bugs off of it. It blooms out real nice then gets decimated. We do back up to the preserve/woods/swamp so I don’t know if that matters or not. I’ve sprayed just about every remedy that’s advised and they just keep coming back.

[Uptown Girl]

Some crepe myrtle cultivars are naturally more resistant to aphids than others.
There is a lot of info online.

You can also try being preventative by spraying yours weekly with a neem oil emulsion. (Must be a freshly mixed batch each time you apply)

I had 4 Red Rooster crepes (black foliaged crepes) for a time and was diligent about spraying. They were gorgeous for a time but frankly, keeping black soot/aphids in check was a losing battle.
I also tried systemic preventative with weak results.


There is an online company I like, The Crepe Myrtle Company. You may find a cultivar you can love (instead of Black Diamond) there.
Good Luck!

[Ozzello]

Been around quite a while, not a real showstopper for something that only flowers a few months a year. The standard varieties have been around a long time for a reason.

[Michael G.]

Originally Posted by Ozzello

Been around quite a while, not a real showstopper for something that only flowers a few months a year. The standard varieties have been around a long time for a reason.

By the standard variety do you mean the taller ones?

We have one that was in our backyard when we bought the house and grows to 25-30 feet.
We have it cut back around valentine's day in February about 7' from the ground.
It fills out fast and flowers for about a month and a half once the summer heat arrives.

[Ozzello]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

By the standard variety do you mean the taller ones?

We have one that was in our backyard when we bought the house and grows to 25-30 feet.
We have it cut back around valentine's day in February about 7' from the ground.
It fills out fast and flowers for about a month and a half once the summer heat arrives.

I don't mean the taller ones. I mean the older varieties. There are tree and shrub types.

Most hybrids do not fare as well as the Knockout Rose or the Blu My Mind once the test of time is applied.
It was 'neat' that they created crepe M. that were such brilliant reds and with the color in the leaves, but from what I see now of the ones planted 20 years ago when the fad first hit, they don't score very high for use in landscape designs in this area.

Some may disagree, but they may have a different checklist than I do when grading plants for use in this area.

[Ozzello]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

By the standard variety do you mean the taller ones?

We have one that was in our backyard when we bought the house and grows to 25-30 feet.
We have it cut back around valentine's day in February about 7' from the ground.
It fills out fast and flowers for about a month and a half once the summer heat arrives.

Also, you might think that crepe myrtle only grows to 25-30, but I can show you a several old specimens in Ocala that are pushing 50 feet or more with multiple trunks over 20" in diameter. Anything in The Villages is pretty young in comparison to how long they live.